2 1. Fields of the Invention
This invention is directed to a vibratory massage device, more particularly, a hand held vibratory massage device with heating facility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vibratory massages device combined with heating facility have been provided in the past for enhancing massaging treatment. Such prior art devices are shown, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication Nos. 44-20391 and 44-20392. In these prior devices, an applicator head includes a heating element together with an eccentric flyweight which is secured on a rotary shaft to be driven thereabout for producing vibrations in the plane perpendicular to the rotary shaft. The applicator head is generally employed in two different massaging modes depending on the area of a human body or the demand by an operator, one is for rubbing massage treatment to utilize the top face or the surface perpendicular to the axis of the shaft as a body-contacting surface which moves substantially in the plane of the area of the body upon the vibratory motion of the head, and the other is for tapping massage action to utilize the side face or the surface parallel to that axis as a body-contacting surface which apply a tapping force to the body upon the vibratory motion of the head. In the above prior devices, however, the heating element is disposed at the location adjacent either to the top face for use in the rubbing massage or alternatively to the side face for use in the tapping massage. Therefore, the heating treatment is limited to be added to only one of the above two massages, and cannot be added to each of the rubbing and tapping massage actions, restricting the applicability of the heating treatment and failing to satisfy the operator who may desire to receive a combined heat-massage treatment both in the rubbing and tapping massages. Another prior device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,067,979 in which a heating element is arranged adjacent the under side of a dome shaped applicator defining the top face of a vibrator head. The vibrator head is so designed as to move generally in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the top face, effectuating a tapping massage action only by utilizing the top face as a body-contacting surface. In other words, it is not expected from this device to utilize both top and side faces for the above different massage actions. Consequently, the heat from the heating element can be understood to be applied only to the top face and is not applied to the side face, rendering the device unsatisfactory in the sense of the above discussion.